Prevalence and characteristics of clinically significant retained common bile duct stones after laparoscopic cholecystectomy for symptomatic cholelithiasis

PURPOSE: To investigate the prevalence and clinical features of retained symptomatic common bile duct (CBD) stone detected after laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) in patients without preoperative evidence of CBD or intrahepatic duct stones. METHODS: Of 2,111 patients who underwent cholecystectomy between September 2007 and December 2014 at Seoul Metropolitan Government-Seoul National University Boramae Medical Center, 1,467 underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy for symptomatic gallbladder stones and their medical records were analyzed. We reviewed the clinical data of patients who underwent postoperative endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) for clinically significant CBD stones (i.e., symptomatic stones requiring therapeutic intervention). RESULTS: Overall, 27 of 1,467 patients (1.84%) underwent postoperative ERCP after LC because of clinical evidence of retained CBD stones. The median time from LC to ERCP was 152 days (range, 60–1,015 days). Nine patients had ERCP-related complications. The median hospital stay for ERCP was 6 days. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of clinically significant retained CBD stone after LC for symptomatic cholelithiasis was 1.84% and the time from LC to clinical presentation ranged from 2 months to 2 years 9 months. Therefore, biliary surgeons should inform patients that retained CBD stone may be detected several years after LC for simple gallbladder stones.